Gold breached $5,300 /oz overnight, its largest one-day jump on record—$220—to $5,301.60, as futures traders piled into the only dollar-denominated asset investors still trust. (wsj.com)

The move crowns a 22 % YTD surge driven by a 1.5 % slide in the trade-weighted greenback and record central-bank buying. Citi now calls bullion the new “knee-jerk safety trade,” replacing Treasuries, while Safra Sarasin notes that no other liquid haven is priced in dollars. (ft.com) Policy caprice—tariff threats, a looming U.S. shutdown—and currency jitters from Washington to Tokyo have turned monetary orthodoxy on its head; investors are no longer price-sensitive in their flight from fiat. (theguardian.com)

The deeper story is structural: a decade of cheap-money rescues has debased faith in sovereign promises, so every political shock now compounds into currency risk. If leaders ignore this signal, a self-reinforcing loop of dollar weakness and de-financialisation beckons—an echo of 1971, but without a Bretton Woods to reform. As economist Isabella Weber warns, “Price is a political choice before it is a market fact.”

— The Gist AI Editor

Ukraine Peace Talks Snag on Territory

U.S.-brokered negotiations to end the war in Ukraine are confronting familiar, fundamental roadblocks. Despite another round of talks planned as soon as Sunday, Kyiv and Moscow remain deadlocked on core issues (Politico.eu). U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio identified the primary obstacle as the future status of Donetsk, stating that reconciling the two sides’ territorial claims is the last significant item needing resolution (Politico.eu). The persistent impasse underscores the difficulty of translating battlefield dynamics into a sustainable political settlement.

Industrial Metals Hit New Highs

Copper prices surged to a record in London, signaling robust investor confidence in global industrial demand (Bloomberg). The bull run in base metals is fueled by expectations of stronger U.S. growth and, critically, massive global investment in power infrastructure and technology. The build-out of data centers and robotics, pillars of the modern economy, is creating a powerful, sustained demand for core industrial materials. This market signal suggests a tangible, physical-world boom underpins much of the digital economy’s expansion.

Asian Markets Send Mixed Signals

South Korea’s currency, the won, is enjoying its longest rally in 13 years, a surge credited to global investor enthusiasm for the country’s artificial intelligence sector and inflows anticipating its inclusion in a key global bond index (Bloomberg). In contrast, Las Vegas Sands’ Macau operation saw its shares plunge nearly 10% in Hong Kong—the sharpest drop since last April. The casino operator’s disappointing profit figures reveal lingering softness in a key segment of China’s consumer economy (Bloomberg).

Stay tuned for the next Gist—your edge in a shifting world.

Sergey Brin Backs New California Political Effort as Threat of Wealth Tax Looms
— Wall Street Journal

Malaysia ‘Mom-and-Pop’ Retailer Eyes $750.0 Million IPO Valuation
— Wall Street Journal

Barry Diller Told Warner Discovery He Is Interested in Buying CNN
— Wall Street Journal

Korean Won Heads for Longest Rally in 13 Years on Inflows, AI
— Bloomberg

Copper Spikes to Record in London as Base Metals Extend Bull Run
— Bloomberg

Sands’ Shares Plunge After Macau Profit Misses Expectation
— Bloomberg

AI’s Staggering Price Tag

Microsoft’s latest earnings reveal a crucial tension at the heart of the AI revolution. While net income soared an impressive 60% to $38.5 billion, the market’s reaction was decidedly cool, pushing the stock down around 4% in after-hours trading (El Pais, Morningstar). The reason: staggering capital expenditures on AI infrastructure, which surged to $37.5 billion (Morningstar). Investors are beginning to question the return on these colossal investments. This pragmatic skepticism is a healthy market signal, demanding evidence that the immense outlays for AI are translating into sustainable profitability, not just impressive technological demonstrations. The ripple effect will be increased pressure on big tech to prove the economic viability of their AI ventures sooner rather than later.

Selling Shovels in an AI Gold Rush

While uncertainty shadows AI application developers, the suppliers of its foundational hardware are thriving. Look no further than Samsung Electronics, which just posted its best-ever quarterly results, driven by explosive demand for the advanced memory chips essential for AI data centers. The South Korean giant reported a record quarterly consolidated revenue of ₩93.8 trillion (roughly $65.5 billion) and an all-time high operating profit of ₩20.1 trillion (Ansa, Space Daily). This classic free-market dynamic—where the most reliable profits during a gold rush are made by those selling picks and shovels—underscores where tangible value is currently being captured. The immense profitability in the semiconductor sector will fuel further innovation and capacity expansion, but also signals potential price hikes for consumer electronics as resources are diverted to AI.

Catch the next Gist for the continent’s moving pieces.

Thüringer Ministerpräsident soll Doktortitel verlieren
— ZDF

Rihanna: The star who made a hiatus her greatest strength
— El Pais

Are men being misled over testosterone? – podcast
— The Guardian

Aktuelles zum Krieg in der Ukraine
— ZDF

Sporting spektakulär im Achtelfinale
— ZDF

Microsoft mejora los resultados un 60%, pero alienta la dudas sobre la inversión en IA
— El Pais